Glen Perkins’s 2009 season peaked on April 19th following his third start of the year. Accounting for the fact that MLB’s schedule runs through October, this story does not have a happy ending. Up until that point the lefty had tossed 24 innings, allowing only four runs on 16 hits and maintaining a tidy .188 batting average against. Then everything he threw was sprayed all over the field. Post-April 20th Perkins worked 71.1 innings in 15 games, allowing 60 runs on 103 hits (13 of which were home runs), and went on to finish the season buried in Rochester on a rehab assignment.

Are there any takeaways that suggest Perkins can rebound from an ugly season in 2010? Certainly. Look at his batting average in play on groundballs. It reads .327. Meanwhile, the league average in this area was .240. It stands to reason that approximately 10 of Perkins’s 55 hits on the ground bleed through or found unguarded seams. These sorts of results do not last forever; eventually they find a fielder’s glove. Because his balls-in-play tendencies shifted from an aerial pitcher to chiefly a groundball pitcher (from 38% in ’08 to 47% in ‘09), Perkins could be inline for a Plexiglas effect in 2010, if this trend continues. That isn’t to say his overall woes won’t continue. Outside of just three other starters with a minimum of 90 innings pitched, Perkins held the lowest K/9 (4.20) while not figuring out a way to subdue left-handed opponents (.878 OPS) and getting lit up while pitching from the stretch (.962 OPS men on vs. .687 OPS empty). Without solving these three issues it is hard to believe shaving off 10 groundball hits a year will Cy Young-ify him.

Then there were the issues with management.

Including not revealing an injury which repositioned him in the manager’s doghouse and sparking some internal controversy when Perkins’ agent filed a grievance with the players’ association stating the Twins intentionally held him in the minor leagues to avoid increasing his service time, there is plenty of speculation circulating that Perkins’ name could be on the forefront of any potential trades this offseason. Then again, Perkins’ stock is not high enough to wrangle in anything of substantial value without including at least one prospect.

About OtB

"Parker Hageman is the Michael Cuddyer of Twins bloggers -- not the flashiest guy out there, but a solid everyday player. Hageman produces spot-on analysis ... relying on in-depth stats and lots of charts. He takes a sober, performance-based view of players, letting others fall for a player's heart or his leadership skills in the clubhouse. Hageman is one of the four pillars holding up the Star Tribune's TwinsCentric blog."